Aftermath
by Scream to the Stars
Summary: Kalona's gone for now. So what about Zoey and Stark who's finally found peace? one-shot


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**I've got nothing to say...Erik's a douche bag...  
Disclaimer: belongs to the Cast daughter and mother...**

Erik grabbed my arm as I tried to get in the passenger's seat of the Hummer, beside Stark. Stark glared at him as he pulled me to him and kissed me hard. I made a really weird sound like errrmph! I pushed him off of me and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I heard the driver's door to the Hummer open and close and Stark walked around the hood to come and stand before me and Erik. He crossed his arms and silently glared at Erik, daring him to make another move. I made cool down motions with my hands, and his glare faded a bit, but not a lot.

"Is there a problem?" Erik sneered at me nastily, while he took a step closer and grabbed my arm and kissed me again. I pushed away from him and slapped him hard against his cheek. "Apparently your loyalties are to someone else now," he growled, looking over at Stark. Stark gave him a nasty grin and came up to stand beside me, offering his hand.

"I've fallen out of love with you," I told him, following my intuition, what Nyx would like me to say. "You're being jealous and intrusive and possessive of me and I'm sick of it. I'd rather be with Stark than with you." Stark squeezed my hand, earlier that day I had told him that I was falling for him, and in that process I fell out of love with Erik.

"So you're just going to throw me away? Is that all I mean to you? Some item that you can get sick of and just put away in a box somewhere?" I could seriously feel Stark's anger rising so I squeezed his hand, telling him to calm down and not hurt him. Erik was just angry with me for rejecting him.

"Well that's how you're treating me and I got tired of it real fast," I told him, lacing venom into my voice. "I don't care that you're my teacher and my ex-boyfriend. I'm done with you, so go screw yourself." Stark was now shaking with invisible laughter and I couldn't help but smirk at him. I didn't know that I could be so mean but I was…so…yea…Stark turned away, letting go of my hand. I climbed into the passenger seat of the Hummer.

"That was great!" Stark told me as he started the Hummer. Jack and Damien were in the back seat while Erik was mounting Persephone, my horse in equestrian class. I had patted her neck and told her to buck him off as much as she could. I snickered when he pulled a little at her reigns, trying to make her go, while she didn't go. I heard Stark snicker too and I smiled over at him.

"Thanks, I was kind of tired of his jealousy, even if I was back with him for only a day." Stark twined his fingers with mine and squeezed, smiling his cocky grin that I really did love so much.

"I hope I'm not like that."

"Don't worry, you aren't." I grinned at him while he drove from the Benedictine Sisters' abbey and sped away towards the House of Night campus. Or Hell High as non-vamp people like to put it. The friends on horses were hot on our tail as we drove the short mile up the road to the campus. I stiffened when I saw all of the teachers, including Lenobia, Anastasia, and Dragon waiting for us. I didn't want to know what they were going to say.

We all climbed out of the Hummer and the first thing that Stark did was walk right up to the staff and calmly explain to them what had happened. I watched with tired eyes and smiled when all of the teachers congratulated us on our achievement. The three teachers that had been on our side before we dispelled Kalona walked up to me.

"You need to kind a way to get rid of Kalona for good," Dragon told me right off the bat.

"Yes, indeed, he will be back," Anastasia agreed with her husband. Lenobia was the only one who didn't say a thing. She walked right past me, Damien, and Jack and walked to her beloved horses. She rubbed and patted each of them, whispering in their ears, telling them how good they were.

I nodded towards Dragon and his wife. "I know I do. And I will find a way. Starting tomorrow because I really need some rest now." They all smiled at me and let me go. 'Well…that was quite easy,' I thought. Stark gave his cocky grin and held out his hand to me. I took it and he led me across campus up to the girls' dorm. I knew that he would sleep with me tonight, his reason for peace.

"I'm sleeping for you tonight," Stark repeated my thoughts to me. "Even if Kalona is gone, I want to protect you from him; I want to make sure as hell he doesn't get into your dreams. That…and I want to always be with the girl that made me believe that I wasn't a monster and saw the good in me, the girl that gave me peace." He wrapped his arms around my waist and grinned his totally sexy cocky grin down at me. He leaned down and planted a gentle sweet kiss on my lips. I wrapped my own arms around his neck and kissed him back. I couldn't help but compare the way he was to Erik.

He wasn't intrusive or groping, he was gentle, soft and sweet. He got angry, but all he need was to be near me and then he'd calm down. He wasn't jealous of Heath; he knew that nothing would come of that (Heath went back to Broken Arrow). He was familiar, like Erik, but different all the same. I knew that I would have hell to pay in drama class tomorrow, as well as the staff and I probably had to meet about the whole school not having a high priestess thing…and the thing about not having a High Priestess of the vamp world in general.

I also had to find out a way to get rid of Kalona for good, kill him so that no one else could follow him or resurrect him somehow. I had to deal with the fact that he called me A-ya, his long ago lover. I don't know what was going to happen in the future, but I knew that I was specially chosen by Nyx for this. Sometimes, I just wish she would give a hell of a lot more help here.

Stark finally ended his kiss, and I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm going to have to start facing hell in the morning, but with you by my side, I hope that I can get through it," I told him quietly, almost whispering.

"You could get through it without me by your side," he quietly said back, drawing me closer into the cage of his arms. "Yet, I'm honored that you feel that way, Little Priestess, my Lady," he kissed the top of my head.

"You're very welcome, faithful warrior," there was a smile in my voice as I said the 'faithful warrior' thing. He picked me up and spun me around in a happy little dance and I laughed. "You just totally ruined the moment!!!" He laughed at my comment and put me down, drawing me close again.

"I'm so very apologetic, my Lady. Does this make it any better?" and he bent and kissed me full on the mouth again. I responded to his kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck again and kissing him back slowly and sweetly.

"Very much so," I grinned up at him. He smiled and pulled away, tugging me into the dorm by my hand. I had detected my friend's voices and apparently hadn't wanted to be caught by them. I walked with him up to my room and locked the door, as to not be interrupted.

Stark slid right in bed, waiting for me. I laughed and took out some pajamas, heading to the bathroom. When I came out, I slid into bed beside him and turned off my lamp, making the room dark-ish in the early morning dawn. Stark drew me close and laid my head on his chest, wrapping an arm around my waist. He pulled the blanket up to my shoulders and wrapped his other arm around my middle as well. I immediately felt drowsy, but I wanted to talk to Stark more.

"No talking Zoey, it's time for sleep. You need it, and so do I. The sun is rising, our night. You can deal with it all in the morning. I'll protect you, my Lady." I smiled and nodded, drifting off. I jerked awake though, at someone knocking and banging on the door with a lot of force.

"Zoey!" I detected Shaunee's voice on the other side of the door, but I ignored it and soon was drifting back off to sleep, matching my breaths to Stark's beating heart. I heard the banging stop and Shaunee's twin (separated at birth) tell her that I probably needed rest and didn't want to be disturbed. Boy was she right.

"Oh," I called to Stark once they left. My voice was soft and sleepy, I was sure he didn't hear it at all, but he made a small noise, telling me to go on and tell him. "Promise me something?" he popped open an eye and stared at me carefully.

"What?"

"Stop calling me 'my Lady' and 'High Priestess.' You are my mate; you can call me by my name Stark. Promise?" he grinned down at me, relief showing on his face.

"That I can do Zoey, that I can do."

I smiled again while he stroked my hair with the hand that I wasn't laying on. He lulled me to sleep and I was soon on the waves of the sea of dreams in my soul mate's arms…

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**Based on Hunted =]**

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